Think of the Church Family
Two sermons. Two very different reactions.
A number of years ago, I was at another congregation where we hosted a wonderful Gospel Meeting dealing with the family. The elders had agreed that we had a lot of families in need of help and a series of lessons could only help that. Our speaker did a wonderful job and there was no way anyone with a family left without more tools to do better and more encouragement to keep going.
After the final service, one of our older ladies–who was a widow–saw me walking by and, instead of saying something about how helpful this had been or how grateful she was that the elders had wanted to help our families (some of whom were struggling severely), said to me, “What about us?” She then proceeded to tell me that this series of lessons had been one of the most disappointing she had ever heard because it didn’t address “her” issues.
Fast forward a number of years. I had just finished preaching a sermon on marriage. After services, an older lady came up to me. She isn’t even a New Testament Christian (yet!), but she loves learning. To my knowledge, she also does not have a husband. She could have also said, “What about us?” But what was her reaction?
I don’t remember her exact words, but it was close to this: “I’m so glad you all preach sermons that help the young families. They need it in today’s world.” What a wonderful spirit!
Do you see the difference? Of course, over the passage of time, sermons should be tailored that help as many different demographics as possible. That’s just part of preaching “the whole counsel of God.”
But when a sermon–or even a series–does not directly impact you, how will you react? For one thing, you should be able to find principles in every lesson that help you. If nothing else, you learn something and you might find a principle that helps you be more equipped to give godly counsel to someone else.
There is another aspect, though, that always needs to be remembered. The church is a family. If you truly love your church family, you will be grateful that the elders and preachers are doing their best to teach things that touch every demographic. If I sit through a sermon on Biblical womanhood, it obviously does not touch me directly, but it should make me glad that the ladies in our congregation are being built up. If I hear a sermon on handling divorce, I pray I never have to “apply” that sermon, but I should be grateful that those who have been through that are getting some teaching and encouragement.
It is not about, “What about us?”…as in, our little segment of the congregation.
It is, “What about us?”…as in, our church family. Because that is who we should be!
AUTHOR: Adam Faughn